Another major wool organisation has made an appointment at management level with the British Wool Marketing Board (BWMB) appointing Joe Farren as its new Chief Executive Officer.

Key appointments

Last month, Standard Wool wrote about the International Wool Textile Organisation’s appointment of Dalena White as its new secretary general.

Farren, 44, started in his new role at the BWMB at the start of June following the retirement of Ian Hartley who had served the organisation for the past 22 years.

A resident of Cawood in North Yorkshire, Farren spent his early working life in the capital advising on company mergers and acquisitions.

In 2004, he became the Head of UK and Ireland Business Development for SIG Plc, a FTSE 250 Yorkshire headquartered multinational distributor of building and home improvement products.

His final role before his new post with the BWMB was with the private equity arm of Lloyds Bank, LDC.

Farming heritage

Farren is a qualified barrister and a graduate of Balliol College, Oxford in Modern Languages and English.

He is also part of a farming family and has two farms with his wife in Yorkshire and Aberdeenshire.

Ian Buchanan, Chairman, BWMB said: “We welcome Joe to the BWMB in this high profile and important position at a crucial time not only in agriculture but also in the wool sector. We look forward to working with Joe, ensuring we continue to serve the best interests of our producers and in maximising the value of their wool.

“On behalf of UK wool producers I also thank Ian Hartley for his hard work, commitment and contribution to the BWMB and the wool industry and wish him well for a long and happy retirement.”

Joe Farren commented: “I am delighted to have joined the BWMB. I am determined the Board will continue its good service to wool producers. The Board will also seek to continuously improve the efficiency with which it handles their wool, to manage the auction process effectively so as to maximise prices for producers and to promote wool strongly on the global stage as the pre-eminent fibre, being aesthetically attractive, high performance and environmentally friendly.”

Paul Hughes Jnr, Group Trading Director of Standard Wool, said: “Standard Wool very much supports the BWMB as one of the largest buyers of UK wool, the grading efforts considering the many variety breeds is of great importance to ensuring UK wool is sold at the highest value possible, conversely, ensuring the marketing board is operating as efficiently as possibly is greatly hailed by Standard Wool.”

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